Estrada, 29, landed repeated right hands and put combinations together that were effective but did not dent Rungvisai, a 115-pound tank of a fighter who defeated Roman Gonzalez twice in 2017 to earn his belts and accolades as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best.

When Rungvisai was on his game he went directly at Estrada, unleashing power from a variety of angles.

The Thai fighter switched stances throughout the bout, moving away from his traditional – and effective – southpaw stance.

“He surprised me a bit by that,” Estrada said. “Because he is always lefty, it surprised me that he was righty tonight. But I felt him out well when he fought right-handed.”

The challenger, however, found repeated answers and put punches on Rungvisai (47-5-1) while attempting to evade the champion’s power.

Still, Estrada risked the outcome several times by trading punches while Rungvisai sought to get back into the fight during the championship rounds.

The action elicited a strong reaction from the Mexican fans at The Forum, who were vocal for Estrada throughout the main event.

“I needed to show the Mexican fans and everyone here tonight that I was going to win that belt,” Estrada said.

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